Oyo State has recorded its first case of yellow fever with a 19-year-old student of the Ajayi Crowder University ,World Health Organisation’s State Technical Officer, Measles and meningitis, Dr Akin Akinbajo, said.
Dr Akinbajo at a stakeholders’ meeting on Supplementary Immunisation Campaign at Oyo State Ministry of Health, said the State government had responded adequately to curtail the yellow fever outbreak.
He stated further that the outbreak was an attestation to Oyo State’s low yellow fever vaccination coverage put at 38 per cent.
“One case of a confirmed yellow fever case is an outbreak because of the fatality of the disease. We got its news last one week and one of the samples sent is confirmed to be yellow fever.
“I personally was in the field with the Oyo State Ministry of Health personnel on Friday and Saturday for a community survey at Moniya. We had sampled 138 households, but the good news is that the child has fully recovered.
“When we say yellow fever, we do not mean the person is going to die, but the chance of death is high, just like Ebola fever, there are survivals of yellow fever,” Nigerian Tribune quoted him saying.
The stakeholders’ meeting organised by the State government was to engender support for health interventions and policies, including immunisation, at the grass roots.
